“And since this is their town, it’s also their business and none of ours,” Jake agreed. “Now it’s time we found that exercise we were talking about earlier before I fall asleep standing up.”

“Rainy days tend to do that to you,” Tandro said with a faint grin. “Most of the men I know don’t fight the urge, but I’ve always enjoyed being different. The exercise area ought to be that way.”

Jake followed Tandro in the suggested direction, and a minute later they found the uncarpeted circle meant for exercise. Arranged around the circle were small tables holding wooden knives that were obviously supposed to be used as practice weapons, so Jake and Tandro took off their knife belts and left them on the small tables in place of the wooden weapons. Then they moved to the center of the circle and faced each other. With no other men around intent on their own exercise, Jake and his companion didn’t have to worry about how far they spread out.

Tandro was a trained fighter and had good instincts, but Jake still had to take it easy with the man to keep from ending the exercise in no more than a couple of minutes. He also had to be careful not to show that he was taking it easy so he didn’t insult the other man, and somehow he managed it. Tandro didn’t seem to have a clue that Jake wasn’t using every bit of skill he had, and the sparring became really enjoyable.

Until two other “guests” joined them, men who drew their real knives rather than taking up wooden weapons. The two came at Jake together, obviously meaning to put him down first before they then went after Tandro, and Jake wondered distantly if that meant the two considered him the weaker fighter or the better one. Some people believe in taking out the weaker fighter first so that they can concentrate on the better one without distraction, and some prefer to leave the weaker fighter for easy polishing off once the better fighter is down and done.

But whichever idea they had it still didn’t work out, since Jake combined unarmed combat with knife-fighting techniques as he faced the two. While he used his wooden knife to block the real weapons, it took no more than a kick to one face and a second kick to a groin to put both attackers down. The shouts and screams forced out of the two assassins drew the attention of other guests as well as men who worked for the hostel, and Tandro silenced the noise of their demands to know what happened by holding up both of his arms.

“We need to have the guard sent for,” Tandro said once the noise died down a little. “These men attacked us for no reason.”

“It’s perfectly obvious that you were attacked,” one of the men from the hostel said, gesturing toward the real knives the assassins had dropped. “The guard has already been sent for, and I’m sure they’ll have the same question that I do. Since it is obvious that you were attacked, why didn’t you kill those two the way you’re entitled to do?”

“I didn’t kill them because it isn’t possible to question dead men,” Jake answered when Tandro didn’t. “This isn’t the first time we were attacked, and we’d like to know who has it in for us.”

“But you won’t get any answers out of assassins,” the same man responded with a short laugh. “Most of them even refuse to talk under torture, so trying to question them is a waste of time. Don’t you know anything?”

“Maybe I know something you don’t,” Jake returned, not about to mention the idea he’d just gotten. “In any event, it can’t hurt to try. A prisoner can always be killed later, but once he’s dead you can’t change your mind and make him live again.”

A mutter of confusion went up from the crowd, but Jake ignored the noise while he kept his attention on the two assassins. Tandro was watching the crowd, Jake had noticed, so he did his own watching to make sure neither of the assassins woke up and tried again. The unconscious men were just beginning to stir when the crowd parted to allow the arrival of Captain Sovri and some of his guardsmen.

“If the matter weren’t so serious, I’d say the situation was starting to become tiresome,” Sovri said, standing next to Jake and watching while his men went to chain the two assassins. “There really wasn’t a reason for you to leave these men alive, but since you did we’ll take care of the chore for you.”

“Before you execute them, I have a suggestion,” Jake said very softly, drawing Sovri’s startled attention. “I know it isn’t usually done, but you might try giving them the drug usually given only to female slaves. That drug won’t let them refuse your orders, and then you can get them to tell you who hired them. You’ll have to use more of the drug because they’re bigger than most females, but the idea ought to work.”

Jake could see that Sovri started out being completely outraged, but by the time Jake finished speaking Sovri had shifted to looking thoughtful.

“You know, it never occurred to me that the drug could be used in just that way,” Sovri mused, his thoughts mostly inward. “Afterward the two can be sold as slaves instead of executed, maybe with the one who hired them to keep them company. That bounty on assassins isn’t collected unless the victim survives, and even so hasn’t been that much of a deterrent. The possibility of being enslaved like a woman should do a much better job.”

By that time the two assassins had been chained up and forced to their feet, the second man still partially bent over because of the pain in his groin. Sovri gestured his men into leaving and then followed them, promising first to let Jake and Tandro know if and when anything was found out about who hired the assassins. Most of the crowd followed the guardsmen and their prisoners, so Jake used the opportunity to walk to the table where his knife belt was and reclaim the weapon.

“So much for our time of exercise,” Tandro said as he joined Jake, exchanging his wooden knife for his own belted weapon. “I have a request that I hope you won’t consider as me stepping over a line. Do you think there’s a chance you could teach me that other fighting method you use? I could see how effective it is, and would love to be able to use the same myself.”

“I’d be glad to teach you, but we can’t do it here,” Jake answered with a smile as he replaced his knife belt. “As soon as we talk to Gordi we’ll leave for home, and once we get there I can start the lessons.”

Tandro nodded with his own smile, obviously pleased with Jake’s promise. He knew as well as Jake did that the lessons couldn’t be started in the hostel, not when there were already too many people who would be watching their every move. The assassins had ruined any chance for privacy Jake and his companion had, and there was nothing they could do to change that state of affairs.

Tandro led the way out of the exercise area, and it came as no surprise to Jake when it was their suite the native headed for. Getting out of sight, at least for a while, was a good idea, but for some reason the closer they got to the suite, the more Tandro lost his air of satisfaction. Once they went inside and closed the door behind themselves, the native turned resolutely to Jake.

“I wonder if you would do me a different kind of favor,” Tandro said, looking as if the words were being torn out of him. “I’d—hate to be held responsible if something—bad happened to that girl, so if you’d—talk to her…”

“That’s a good idea,” Jake said at once, trying to sound heartily approving rather than suddenly worried. “If she’s still bothered by what happened yesterday I might be able to ease her mind. Let’s go and talk to her right now.”

Tandro nodded eagerly and began to lead the way to his bedroom. Jake followed silently, but his mind whirled with the question of what could be going on. The conversation they’d had about excess and sadism came back to mind, and Jake could only hope that Tandro hadn’t lost himself in some way with Ennie. The native had been very firm on the fact that both women had to be treated like real slaves, and if Tandro had gone just a little too far…